Clothing and method for producing a clothing

Abstract

A clothing, in particular a drying wire, for a machine for producing a fibrous web, such as a paper or cardboard web, is a planar textile structure from yarns which intersect in a machine direction and in a cross-machine direction. The planar structure has two edges oriented in the machine direction and two edges oriented in the cross-machine direction. The clothing is joinable along the edges oriented in the cross-machine direction in the machine so as to form an endless belt. The clothing is only calendered by introducing energy in peripheral regions which extend along the edges oriented in the machine direction and/or along the edges oriented in the machine cross direction, on account of which in the peripheral regions the MD yarns are welded to the CMD yarns, and the thickness and/or permeability of the clothing are/is reduced.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A clothing for a machine for producing a fibrous web, the clothing comprising:
 a planar textile structure formed of yarns which intersect substantially perpendicularly and which are substantially oriented in a machine direction and in a cross-machine direction; 
 said planar textile structure having two edges oriented in the machine direction and two edges oriented in the cross-machine direction; 
 seam elements configured to join said planar textile structure in the machine to form an endless belt, said seam elements being disposed at said edges that are oriented in the cross-machine direction and formed by, or connected to, said yarns that are oriented in the machine direction; 
 said planar textile structure having the characteristics of having been calendered by introducing energy only in peripheral regions which extend along said edges that are oriented in the machine direction and along said edges that are oriented in the machine cross direction, or by introducing energy only in the peripheral regions which extend along said edges that are oriented in the machine cross direction, wherein the yarns oriented in the machine direction are welded in the peripheral regions to the yarns oriented in the cross-machine direction and/or are form-fittingly interconnected at intersection points thereof, wherein those regions of said planar structure that have been calendered have a permeability that is reduced relative to those regions that have not been calendered and wherein the peripheral regions that extend along said edges that are oriented in the cross-machine direction have a permeability that is matched to the permeability of those regions that have not been calendered and the matched permeability is due to having been post-perforated while the peripheral regions that extend along said edges that are oriented in the machine direction have the reduced permeability due to having been calendered but not having been post-perforated. 
 
     
     
       2. The clothing according to  claim 1 , wherein, in the calendered peripheral regions, the yarns oriented in the machine direction are fused with the yarns oriented in the cross-machine direction and integral therewith. 
     
     
       3. The clothing according to  claim 1 , wherein, in the calendered peripheral regions, the yarns oriented in the machine direction are welded to the yarns oriented in the cross-machine direction, while maintaining a cross-sectional shape thereof. 
     
     
       4. The clothing according to  claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the calendered peripheral regions, relative to an original thickness in a non calendered state, is reduced by the calendering by a proportion of between 5% and 50%. 
     
     
       5. The clothing according to  claim 1 , wherein a permeability in the peripheral regions that have been calendered but not post-perforated, relative to a permeability of the planar structure outside the calendered peripheral regions, is reduced by the calendering by 5 to 100%. 
     
     
       6. The clothing according to  claim 1 , wherein a width of the calendered peripheral regions is between 5 mm and 50 mm. 
     
     
       7. The clothing according to  claim 1 , wherein an extraction force required for extracting yarns oriented in the cross-machine direction in relation to the planar textile structure having non-calendered peripheral regions is increased by at least 10%. 
     
     
       8. The clothing according to  claim 1 , wherein the calendering is effected unilaterally or bilaterally on a side configured to face a fibrous web and/or on a side configured to face the machine. 
     
     
       9. The clothing according to  claim 1 , wherein said seam elements are seam loops on at least one of said edges oriented in the cross-machine direction, said seam loops being formed by reverse interweaving of at least some of the yarns oriented in the machine direction with the planar structure, and at least some reverse-interwoven portions of at least some of the yarns oriented in the machine direction are welded to yarns oriented in the cross-machine direction and/or to yarns oriented in the machine direction in the calendered peripheral regions of the at least one edge oriented in the cross-machine direction. 
     
     
       10. The clothing according to  claim 1 , wherein said seam elements are helices or structures which are independent of said planar textile structure and which are releasably or non releasably disposed on at least one peripheral region of one of said edges oriented in the cross-machine direction. 
     
     
       11. The clothing according to  claim 10 , wherein said seam elements having the planar textile structure are non-releasably disposed on said at least one peripheral region by at least one process selected from the group consisting of adhesive bonding, stitching, welding, and interlocking. 
     
     
       12. The clothing according to  claim 10 , wherein, on account of the welding of the yarns by way of calendering of the peripheral regions oriented in the cross-machine direction, the yarns oriented in the cross-machine direction are load-bearing. 
     
     
       13. The clothing according to  claim 10 , wherein, on the at least one peripheral region of the edge oriented in the cross-machine direction, a thickness of the planar structure in relation to outside the peripheral region is reduced, on account of which, when viewed in the thickness direction of the planar structure, the upper side and/or lower side of the planar structure in the calendered peripheral region is recessed in relation to outside the calendered peripheral region, and the seam elements are disposed on the recessed side of the upper side and/or lower side. 
     
     
       14. The clothing according to  claim 9 , wherein the edges of the clothing are inter-connectable by mutual interleaving of said seam elements on the edges oriented in the cross-machine direction and by inserting at least one pintle in a duct formed by the interleaved seam elements. 
     
     
       15. The clothing according to  claim 1 , wherein said yarns forming said planar textile structure are configured as monofilaments or multi filaments. 
     
     
       16. A method for producing clothing according to  claim 1 , wherein the method comprises the following method steps:
 i) providing a clothing with yarns oriented in the machine direction and yarns oriented in the cross-machine direction; 
 ii) cutting the clothing along a predefined cutting line in the machine direction and/or in the cross-machine direction; 
 iii) fusing ends of the yarns oriented in the machine direction and/or fusing ends of the yarns oriented in the cross-machine direction with the yarns oriented in the machine direction, so as to configure a smooth cutting edge. 
 
     
     
       17. The method according to  claim 16 , which comprises carrying out the method by way of a device for introducing energy selected from the group consisting of a rotating disk-shaped ultrasonic horn and of a hot wedge. 
     
     
       18. The method according to  claim 16 , which further comprises:
 iv) surface calendering the peripheral regions which are configured bilaterally so as to adjoin the cutting edges; and 
 thereby carrying out method step iv) simultaneously with method steps ii) and iii). 
 
     
     
       19. The method according to  claim 18 , wherein method step vi) is carried out by way of an additional device for introducing energy, which is guided in a parallel manner.